ON THIS DAY
SAINT HILARY’S DAY – traditionally the coldest day of the year. 1893: The Independent British Labour Party was formed by Keir Hardie. 1904: English composer Richard Addinsell was born. His most famous work was the Warsaw Concerto which he wrote for the 1941 film Dangerous Moonlight. 1921: The first British patent for windscreen wipers was registered by Mills Munitions of Birmingham. 1942: The pilot of an experimental jet fighter became the first to leave his plane via an emergency ejector seat. 1962: An outbreak of smallpox spread throughout Britain. 1964: A reluctant Capitol Records released the first Beatles record in the US “to see how it goes”. I Wanna Hold Your Hand became their fastestselling single – one million copies were sold in the first three weeks. 1982: A Boeing 737 crashed into a bridge, hitting five ships and killing 78 people, on the Potomac River in Washington DC. 1990: An army undercover unit shot dead three men robbing a betting shop in west Belfast, causing uproar among republicans. Two of the raiders were hooded and carried Suggs McPherson, left, and Stephen Hendry. replica guns. 2010: Pope Benedict XVI met and forgave the woman who knocked him down at Christmas Eve Mass in 2009. 2013: Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave won the coveted Golden Globe for best movie drama. THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Humans have changed the course of nature and postponed the next ice age through climate change, a study found. BIRTHDAYS: Mark O’Meara, golfer, 61; Kevin Anderson, actor, 58; Julia Louis-Dreyfus, actress, 57; Suggs McPherson, singer (Madness), 57; Penelope Ann Miller, actress, 54; Ronan Rafferty, golfer, 54; Stephen Hendry, snooker player, 49; Nicole Eggert, actress, 46; Orlando Bloom, actor, 41.